CAPE TOWN - One in four police officers in the Western Cape have failed the firearms competency test.

In a written reply from the South African Police Service (SAPS) to the Democratic Alliance’s Western Cape spokesperson on Community Safety, it was revealed 27% of officers had to return their firearms.

Mireille Wenger, chairperson of the Standing Committee on Community Safety in the Western Cape legislature, says it’s shocking that more than 4,500 police officers failed the firearms competency test in the past financial year.

“If one looks at the total number of operational or Police Act personnel in the Western Cape which is just over 16,000, it would indicate that just over a quarter of operational SAPS officers did not manage to finish their firearms competency tests last year.”

Wenger says the figure is at its highest in the past three years.

If SAPS members fail the test they are required to hand in their firearms, which means fewer armed officers are equipped to combat crime.